Satisfactory
by Nightshadowmidnight
Summary: After all the arguments and the disagreements and after all the lengths they'd gone to to ensure that he wouldn't take their daughter's hand, it was wonderfully satisfying to see Souko's parents stood outside the church as Aruto emerged with his new bride. One-shot.


To begin with it was stunning. Truly stunning to see the parents of Hoshina Souko on this, the best day of Aruto's life.

As the man in question stood in front of the church he glanced over at the near elderly woman who was conversing with a few members of their family as the wedding guests began to wander inside. His fiancée's mother had only arrived a few moments ago and already she looked like she just wanted to get back in the expensive car that had brought her here and dash home again.

"She looks like she's having a marvellous time." A rather sarcastic voice murmured from behind.

Aruto chuckled at his best man's dry humour and tried to make it less obvious that he had been watching.

"I'm surprised she even showed up." Yui commented, appearing into Aruto's line of vision. He made a minor adjustment to his tie and scowled at it, disliking both the tightness and the dark blue colour of the object.

The violinist (who was becoming a little frustrated with Yui's constant adjustments to his clothing) frowned at his friend. "Yes, thank you for that, Yui. At least wait until I'm actually married before you start saying things like that!"

Both men then proceeded to quickly look over their shoulders, checking that none of the guests had heard. Maybe that had been a little louder than he had intended.

Certain that their conversation wasn't being overheard, Yui rolled his eyes. "Calm down. I know you're nervous about-"

"I'm not nervous about marrying Souko." Aruto quickly interjected. True, he seemed calm enough. Why shouldn't he be? He was finally getting married to the woman he loved more than anything. He gave Mrs Hoshina a quick glance then another at the church entranceway. "It's her father I'm worried about."

Unsure of what to do whilst his friend suddenly appeared so dismal, Yui awkwardly patted his shoulder and at least attempted to pick the mood up. "Hey, I thought you couldn't care less about what they think. Whatever happened to 'we'll do whatever we want to do, so they can shove their nose out of it'?"

Aruto merely grimaced and brushed the hand off of his shoulder. "This is a new suit, Yui. Be careful with it or you'll be paying for any damage you cause."

The best man held back a laugh. "Sure, if you say so. It's not like you'll ever wear it again anyway."

Actually he'd been considering whether it would be suitable to perform in, but kept quiet still.

It wasn't long after all the guests had taken their place that Aruto was aware that his bride had arrived. He breathed a sigh of pure relief. With her father in the car he wasn't sure if she'd even make it to the altar or not.

The music began to play, the guests were seated and after what seemed to be a lifetime the grand doors opened up to reveal Souko alongside her father. Aruto felt his heart skip a beat. She was stunning. Absolutely stunning. He had known to expect the most beautiful sight when she walked in wearing a white dress, definitely, but he just... he couldn't believe his eyes. This was the woman he was marrying? How on Earth did he find himself so fortunate?

As he somehow forced himself to tear his eyes away from the woman, he accidently found himself making eye-contact with his soon-to-be father-in-law.

Souko's father appeared as though he had just walked out of a meeting with his grey pinstripe suit, his combed back, slightly thinning hair and the complete look of seriousness plastered onto his ageing face that you really wouldn't expect the father of the bride to be wearing as he walked his daughter down the aisle. But still the look remained as the two reached the front of the church and even as she hugged him tightly, whispering a 'Thank you, father' into his ear, the violinist didn't fail to miss the brief glare that was directed at him. However, this was his wedding day and so he chose to ignore it and focused on the blonde stood beside him.

And so the ceremony began and as the ancient man marrying them (to put it simply) began his speech, Aruto's mind turned back to his near in-laws despite the fact that he was determined to just enjoy himself for one special day.

Souko's parents were cold. They were harsh, they were demanding, controlling, possessive and they were above all else completely work-centred. Nothing in the entire world mattered as much to them as their company, Easter. Not even their own daughter whom people suspected they only ever had to take over the business once they were unable to. But of course, a woman couldn't be the next Director of Easter. No, God forbid! It had to be a man! A strong, intelligent man who was eager to take over and make the company the next big thing for years to come. Everything that Aruto wasn't. So, when their daughter came to them and confessed that she'd fallen in love with the music prodigy and _not _one of the many candidates they'd been hoping to set her up with, they were quite simply very, very, _incredibly _angry.

They'd then tried to wave it off and dismiss the subject, saying that Souko would be interested in plenty of men whilst she was still young and that once Aruto Tsukiyomi was out of the way (which they'd insisted was inevitable) they could try and introduce her to some more suitors.

Except they didn't know exactly how serious the couple were. Having been friends for years previously and having been attracted to one another for almost as long, neither was too keen on letting the other go and so by the time the Hoshinas had hoped to get Souko well acquainted with some new candidate for the next Director, the two were as close as ever.

A few times during their relationship, Aruto had come close to considering whether or not to back out. Seeing his girlfriend in tears over another argument with her parents was enough to make him wonder if his being there was only making her home life worse than it already worse, however he knew he would never truly leave her. That feeling of being complete and the warm sense of joy that filled his chest whenever she was just near him made him realise that he really couldn't let her go. He loved her far too much. Aside from that, he knew how controlling and interfering her parents could be and knowing that they would constantly badger her and try to persuade her to change her mind about him made him resent them even more so. A part of him was set on staying by her side purely to show the Hoshinas that when it came to their daughter's happiness they were absolutely not allowed to get their own way.

Turning his attention back to the ceremony, the groom tried his very best not to burst out into joyful laughter. He was marrying her. Souko. He was finally marrying _her!_

He would remember this day well for the rest of his life. The excitement, the promise of a happy life together, the overwhelming pride he felt when he was finally able to slip that golden band over her finger. He was surprised his voice didn't waver as he made his vows, but he was too busy making sure it was clear that he meant every word of it. Holding onto her slim hands, staring into her gorgeous, lilac eyes and speaking in the most honest, genuine tone he could he made his promise to love her, to stay with her forever... and in an equally sincere tone she did the same, squeezing his fingers gently as they came to the end of the ceremony.

It was then that, unintentionally, Aruto's thoughts went back to that night almost a year ago. The night when he had - as the Hoshinas called it - sold his future to them.

He had told them face-to-face that he would be proposing marriage to their daughter, making it clear that no matter what their reaction would be he had every intention of marrying her. Of course his announcement was met with looks of disgust, insults and their claims that however much he wanted to do so, no musician would ever be worthy enough of her.

Aruto had merely nodded, saying that he would still be asking for her hand and that it was only right he let them know. He had then proceeded to leave the room when her father had stopped him in his tracks.

_"I can see you are obviously set on marrying my daughter even though my wife and I are strongly against it... and yes, we would rather you had never had this kind of romantic relationship with Souko in the first place, however... if you are willing, if you really want to marry her, then I can give you the opportunity to do so without our interference._

_"This company of Easter is our family's greatest achievement and, as it's current Director, it is my job to find and recommend someone able to take my place after I am gone. Truthfully, this job should lay in the hands of one of our current employees or at least someone with a history in managing a business, but here I am willing to make an exception..._

_"If you want our permission for you to become engaged to Souko, then you will agree to take over as the Director of Easter in my place. You may marry her and continue your lifestyle as a violinist for the time being, but once I am no longer here it will be compulsory that you give up your music and work for the company. Of course, if you turn down my generous offer, neither of us will allow you our daughter's hand in marriage and we will go by any means necessary to make sure that this marriage will never happen."_

Silencing the voice echoing in his ears, Aruto stared intently at his fiancée and felt a smile form upon his lips. It didn't matter what kind of deal her father would have offered him, he would have always said yes. He didn't know when Easter would be his to control or whether he would be able to rise to the challenge, but he did know that so long as it meant he had Souko there everything he was expected to sacrifice would be undoubtedly worth it.

Hearing his cue to kiss the bride, Aruto took immense pleasure in doing so now that they were officially husband and wife. He was disappointed that their first married kiss couldn't have lasted longer though, but there would be plenty of time for that later.

It wasn't long before they were emerging from the church hand in hand. There was a pause as they stood on the stone steps for photos as their guests showered them with confetti. Holding Souko firmly by the waist as the camera flashed away, the groom caught a glimpse of his new in-laws stood at the edge of the crowd.

What were they thinking exactly as they watched a man they despised have such contact with their daughter? He didn't particularly care right now. However, he had to admit that after they'd been so fiercely keen and so determined to make sure that the two would be kept apart, it was unbelievably satisfying to see them watching as Aruto and his new bride made their way to the waiting car - to their new life. Together.


End file.
